Chapter: Khulʿ

Whoever is legally capable of donating property—whether the wife herself or an unrelated third party—may validly offer it as the compensation1. When a wife dislikes her husband’s character, his physical appearance, a deficiency in his religious practice2, or she fears falling into sin by neglecting his right, khulʿ is permissible; otherwise it is merely disliked, yet it still takes effect.

If the husband, out of sheer injustice, prevents her from ransoming herself—when the reason is not her fornication, recalcitrance, or neglect of an obligatory act—and she nonetheless proceeds; or if khulʿ is concluded on behalf of a minor girl, an insane woman, a prodigal, or a slave woman3 without the master’s permission, it is invalid4, and only a revocable divorce results if the word “divorce” was pronounced5 or intended.

Sub-section

When khulʿ is effected with an explicit formula of divorce, or with an implicit formula accompanied by the intention, it counts as an irrevocable divorce. If it is concluded with the expressions “khulʿ,” “annulment,” or “redemption”6 without the intention of divorce7, it is treated as an annulment and does not diminish the husband’s remaining number of divorces.

No divorce may be pronounced upon a woman who is in the ʿiddah (waiting period) following a khulʿ, even if he addresses her directly with it. It is likewise invalid to stipulate a right of revocation in a khulʿ, and a khulʿ concluded without compensation or with unlawful compensation is of no effect.